Prepare to pay even more for Razer's upcoming gaming laptops

Humza

Posts: 1,026   +171
Staff member
Bottom line: If you’ve been saving up or are waiting to upgrade to Razer’s next-gen Blade gaming laptop, now is probably a good time to bite the bullet and get a current-gen model because the company’s 2022 offerings will require you to part with even more money than usual due to rising costs of PC components.

Known for their svelte design and premium build quality, Razer’s gaming laptops tend to fall on the pricier side of the budget spectrum, hence aren’t usually recommended for value shoppers. There’s also a whiff of that Razer tax sprinkled on expensive base models and fully specced machines that end up costing north of $3,000.

However, according to Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan, that price tag is about to go even higher next year, thanks to “significant” increase in component costs. Consequently, Tan sees all next-gen gaming laptops, including the Blade series, getting more expensive in 2022.

While we can expect to see AMD and Intel-powered Razer laptops at CES 2022, it’s likely that Team Blue’s 12th-gen Alder Lake P-series chips have made their way to Razer’s upcoming laptops, giving a clearer picture of what to expect in terms of increased costs. Given the prices for Alder Lake's desktop platform, it’s not surprising that P-series processors will also do their part in making gaming laptops more expensive.

Razer currently lists a fully specced 2021 Blade Pro 17 for $3,700. Expect that figure to touch $4,000 or more once increased prices for the next-gen model go into effect.

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Yep… nope. I had a Razer Blade for years and it was a fantastic laptop in design & performance.

But, just like Apple, in no way is this machinery worth anywhere near $4000+ for a top end. There are too many other viable alternatives out there that don’t charge such a monster premium (on top of the current hot market).
 
This is a great way to make the laptop market even more appealing...For Apple to take it over.

But on a more serious note this is just another door closing for AAA PC gaming, I probably sound like a broken record but this is not sustainable: it's been too long without midrange options which are the heart of the business and now even one of the last refugees for would be PC gamers that was a 3050 or 3060 laptop is about to be priced so high as to be once more, fully out of reach for most.

Laptops were never a solution they've always carried a premium and it was only a matter of time before both component manufacturers and system integrators noticed "Hey, products that previously had look-warm performance are now making a lot of money since nobody can buy gpus, it's our turn to crank up the prices and make all of the money right now, who needs bridges just burn them all!"
 
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